(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus and method for the efficient separation of hazardous or nonhazardous volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.) from contaminated materials, and/or the elimination of harmful pathogens in contaminated materials. By hazardous volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.) what is meant is volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds having hazardous characteristics including, but not limited to, flammability, toxicity and/or carcinogenicity. By nonhazardous volatile organic compounds what is meant is volatile and semi-volatile materials that do not exhibit hazardous characteristics. The apparatus of the present invention is also useful in destroying harmful pathogens in contaminated materials such as hospital waste.
In particular, the present invention pertains to an apparatus that continuously receives contaminated materials while simultaneously subjecting the contaminated materials received to microwave energy and vacuum pressure. By subjecting the contaminated materials to microwaves and vacuum pressure, the apparatus extracts the hazardous V.O.C. and/or nonhazardous V.O.C. from the contaminated materials as a vapor, and thereby reduces the remaining materials to a dry residue. The apparatus also destroys harmful pathogens in contaminated materials by subjecting the materials to microwaves. In addition, the present invention pertains to the method involved in using the subject apparatus to separate hazardous V.O.C. or nonhazardous V.O.C. from a continuous supply of contaminated materials by thermal desorption, and the method involved in using the subject apparatus to destroy harmful pathogens in contaminated materials.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is common practice in industry to use significant amounts of solvents and other volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.) in a variety of manufacturing process applications that often result in generating various different types of process by-products in the form of contaminated materials, both hazardous and nonhazardous. These contaminated material by-products contain semivolatile solvents such as alcohols, ketones, chlorinated solvents, aliphatic or aromatic materials, terpenes, glycol ethers, esters, glycols, hydrocarbons or water, some of which are reusable if recovered . Examples of solids contained in contaminated materials include paint pigments, resins, phenolics, photoresists, silica, metallic oxides and other solid particulates. Contaminated materials are produced in the aerospace, automotive, appliance, electronics, paint, coatings, film, textile, manufacturing and other related industries. In addition, soils contaminated with various volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds are often waste products of industrial sites.
It is also a frequent occurrence in the medical or health care industry that waste materials disposed of are contaminated with harmful pathogens. One example of these harmful pathogens is the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or the AIDS virus.
Industries that generate these and other contaminated materials are finding it increasingly difficult to dispose of the hazardous contaminated materials or recover reusable components of the materials without the outlay of considerable expense. Moreover, the indiscriminate dumping of hazardous contaminated materials, the increasing number of polluted landfills, the contamination of ground water, the potential for the release of toxic fumes from material storage sites and the resulting air pollution, and the increased occurrences of employee injury or infection resulting from the handling of hazardous contaminated materials and the liability of the contaminated materials producer despite their precautions, all add to the growing problem of the safe disposal of hazardous contaminated materials.
What is needed to resolve this problem is an efficient contaminated material treatment system that substantially separates the hazardous material content of contaminated materials and hence eliminates the hazardous characteristics such as flammability, toxicity, and/or carcinogenicity of the remaining material residue, and a system that substantially destroys harmful pathogens contained in contaminated waste materials, making the material residue or treated waste material eligible for disposal in normal landfills not specifically designated for hazardous materials or for other regulation suitable disposal methods.
To meet this need, the present invention provides a contaminated materials treating apparatus and method of operating the apparatus that substantially eliminates the hazardous materials and/or recovers reusable materials from contaminated materials.